Almeda is an area located along

Texas State Highway 288 State Highway 288 (SH 288) is a north–south highway in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Texas, between I-45 in downtown Houston and Freeport, where it terminates on FM 1495. The route was originally designated by 1939, ...

and the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

Southwest Houston Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90. Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in Southwest Houston. ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

that used to be a distinct

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Harris County. Almeda is from

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10, Interstate 45, and Interstate 69. The ...

History

Dr. Willis King promoted the Almeda area in the early 1880s. The community's name comes from Almeda King, the promoter's daughter. The town, along the International-Great Northern Railroad, functioned as a trading area for agriculture and lumber. In 1893 Almeda, with 50 people, received a post office. Almeda had 200 people, two general stores, and a lumber company in 1914. In 1925 the community had 80 residents. Almeda had four businesses in the 1930s. 1936 state highway maps indicated several buildings in the area. In 1948 the community had 125 residents. In the 1950s Almeda had 20 buildings. Around 1953 the community had 1,750 residents. The post office closed in 1959. By 1960 Almeda residents continued to lack public water and fire department services. Almeda had 40 buildings in the 1960s. In 1962 Almeda had 1,200 residents. Almeda first received sewers in 1963. In the 1980s Almeda had a school, three churches, an abandoned railroad station, and scattered houses. As of 1998 Almeda was still a rural area.Wertheimer, Linda K.
Houston schools take radically different approaches
" ''

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the '' Galvest ...

''. Sunday May 31, 1998. News 31A. Retrieved on October 22, 2011.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

districts D and K serve portions of Almeda. Previously all of City Council District D served Almeda. The community is served by the

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

Southwest Patrol Division, headquartered at 4503 Beechnut Street.VOLUNTEER INITIATIVES PROGRAM - Citizens Offering Police Support
" ''City of Houston''. Retrieved on September 23, 2008.

County, state, and federal representation

Almeda is located in District 131 of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

. As of 2008,

Alma A. Allen Alma Toliver Allen (born April 7, 1939) is a Democratic member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 131 in Harris County, Texas. She became a representative in 2004 after serving on the Texas State Board of Education for ten years ...

represents the district. Genoa is within

District 13 ''District 13'' (French title ''Banlieue 13'' or ''B13''), is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel and written and produced by Luc Besson. It depicts parkour in several stunt sequences completed without wires or computer-generated ...

of the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

; as of 2008

Rodney Ellis Rodney Glenn Ellis (born April 7, 1954) is an American politician. He represented Texas' 13th state senate district in the Texas Senate from 1990 to 2017. The district contains portions of Harris County, including downtown Houston, and Fort Ben ...

represents that district. Almeda is in

Texas's 9th congressional district Texas's 9th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes the southwestern portion of the Greater Houston area in Texas. The current Representative for the district, since 2005, is Democrat Al Green. From 1967 to ...

. As of 2008, Al Green represents the district. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the Almeda Post Office at 3030 West Fuqua Street.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Almeda is within the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and ...

(HISD). Almeda is within Trustee District IX, represented by Lawrence Marshall as of 2008. Almeda Elementary School serves the area east of Almeda Road. As of 1998, 60% of the students were Hispanic and Latino. Since 1994 and as of 1998 the school used the "Success For All" reading program for its English language classes. For bilingual English-Spanish classes it uses "Exito Para Todos," the Spanish version. As of the same year, many parents have some English fluency, but take English classes four days per week in order to improve it. Residents east of Almeda Road are zoned to Audrey H. Lawson Middle School (formerly Dick Dowling Middle School). Residents west of Almeda Road, for K-8, are zoned to Billy Reagan K-8 School. Residents east of Almeda Road are zoned to Worthing High School.Worthing High School Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on December 20, 2016."http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/domain/32468/boundarymaps/Woodson_MS.pdf Woodson Middle Attendance Zone]."

. Retrieved on December 20, 2016. while residents west of Almeda Road are zoned to Madison High School (Houston), Madison High School.Madison High School Attendance Zone
"

. Retrieved on December 20, 2016. The Almeda School District was established in 1893; students originally attended school in a barn and utilized hay stacks as desks. A white one room school building opened in 1894.Almeda's History
." Almeda Elementary School. Retrieved on November 26, 2010. The first permanent school in Almeda opened in 1901.School Histories: the Stories Behind the Names
." ''

''. Retrieved on September 24, 2008. In 1905 Almeda's school had one teacher and 31 students. State highway maps indicated two schools within one mile of Almeda in 1936. During that year the Almeda area became a part of HISD. In 1981 a new Almeda Elementary School campus opened. The current Almeda campus opened in February 2011. Until the fall of 2011, residents east of Almeda Road were zoned to Woodson K-8 School, while residents west of Almeda Road were zoned to Lawson Middle School.Dowling Middle Attendance Zone
." ''

''. Retrieved on April 13, 2009. From fall 2011 to fall 2012, all students were zoned to Lawson Middle School. Prior to fall 2012, all students were zoned to Almeda Elementary School. Beginning in fall 2012 portions of the old Almeda Elementary and Lawson zones were rezoned to Reagan K-8.Agenda Board of Education Meeting March 08, 2012
."

. "CURRENT- GRISSOM, MONTGOMERY, PETERSEN, & HOBBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Attachment 1," "PROPOSED- GRISSOM, MONTGOMERY, PETERSEN, & HOBBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Attachment 2," "CURRENT- REAGAN AND DOWLING MIDDLE SCHOOLS Attachment 3," and "PROPOSED- REAGAN AND DOWLING MIDDLE SCHOOLS Attachment 4." Retrieved on June 14, 2012.
Archive

Public libraries

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 1 ...

operates the Vinson Neighborhood Library at 3100 West Fuqua Street. The original facility had structural issues and leaks. In Fall 2009 the library moved to a new location away from the Almeda community.Baird, Annette.
HIRAM CLARKE / Multiservice center, library set / City officials hope $10 million facility will earn LEED designation
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Thursday November 29, 2007. ThisWeek 3. Retrieved on October 26, 2011. By December 2009 the former library facility was for sale.

Parks and recreation

The City of Houston Parks and Recreation Department operates the Almeda Park and the Almeda Community Center at 14201 Almeda School Road. The community center includes a playground.Our Parks A-F
." ''City of Houston''. Retrieved on April 12, 2009.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 29.604122, -95.4171624, display=title Neighborhoods in Houston Geography of Harris County, Texas